top 10 success factors for early stage businesses - … · · 2014-02-27top 10 success factors...
TRANSCRIPT
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Top 10 Success Factors for Early Stage
Businesses
Welcome
February 26th, 2014
Dave Berkus
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Agenda
• Welcome and introductions
• Angel Capital Association background
• Presentation
• Q&A
Angel Capital Association • Mission: Fuel the success of angel groups and private investors
who actively invest in early-stage companies
• Largest trade group for angels:o 200+ member angel groups
o 10,000 accredited investors
o Individuals, accredited portals, and family family offices
• 50 states/ 5 Canadian provinces
• Charitable partner:
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Members include leading Angel Groups
& Accredited Platforms
New Dominion Angels
Our Partner and Sponsor
Kelly Rodriques currently serves as
President and Chief Executive Officer of
PENSCO Trust Company in San
Francisco, CA.
As the trusted custodian of over $10
Billion in assets, PENSCO works with
over 50,000 clients across the U.S.
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Why PENSCO?
PENSCO has been helping investors use their retirement account funds to invest
in real estate, private equity and other non-exchange traded assets since
1989. As the industry's premier self-directed IRA custodian, we know exactly
what it takes to buy, hold and sell alternative assets in retirement accounts.
• Our highly trained staff has expertise in making complex transactions easier
• Alternative asset transactions and maintenance can be multifaceted and
complicated – a key reason why most traditional brokerage firms and
retirement plan custodians don’t offer them as an option
At PENSCO, we put our customers first and take pride in keeping clients’
accounts compliant with all Internal Revenue Service regulations.
Our Speaker – Dave Berkus
Hospitality industry visionary - Founder of Computerized Lodging Systems Inc. (CLS), 2 years on Inc. 500 list of America's fastest growing companies
108 investments in early stage ventures - IRR of 97%
Manages Berkus Technology Ventures, LLC andtwo ACE funds for Tech Coast Angels
Chairman Emeritus of the Tech Coast Angels
Graduate and currently a Trustee of Occidental College
Author of “Extending the Runway” and “BERKONOMICS” series
Board member – 10 private companies; Chairman of 6 – and active member of 4 non-profit boards
"Director of the Year" - Forum for Corporate Directors
“Technology Leader of the Year” – Los Angeles County
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108 / 166/ 29 / 12
40 / 10 / 6
97%
23%
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(c) 2014 D.W.Berkus
Lessons from BERKONOMICS…
Finding Alpha
Twenty Lessons
I Learned in
Twenty Years of Angel Investing
Yogi Berra
If you don’t know where you’re going,
you might wind up somewhere else.
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1. Be flexible.
Be coachable.
2. Management quality trumps a quality
plan. It’s the jockey, not the horse.
Great management teams mean more to investors than
even greater business plans.
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3. Find your “teacher
customer.”Your customers know what they want more than you do.
Find one to teach you.
4. Greatly exceed early
customer expectations.
First customers are critical.
Greatly exceed expectations at all costs.
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5. Know and avoid Time
Bankruptcy.
Time bankruptcy results from the deliberate
over-commitment of core resources.
6. There is always a
bottleneck.
Sometimes it is you.
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7. Why buy IT?
Why buy MINE?
Why buy NOW?
8. Where there’s mystery,
there’s margin.
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9. Plan for your ‘every
three million dollar crisis.’
9. Plan for your ‘every three million dollar crisis.’
FINANCIAL
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10. List ten companies that could buy your business.
Candidate
acquirer
What they want What we want Likelihood (1-10)
Company 1 Our distribution Their R&D 7
Company 2 Our product Their money 8
Company 3 Our distribution Combine ops for
cost
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Company 4 Our distribution Their money 8
… and 308 of these within the three books…
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Audience Questions and Thank you!
1. Be flexible. Be coachable.
2. Management quality trumps a quality plan.
It’s the jockey, not the horse.
3. Find your “teacher customer.”
4. Greatly exceed early customer expectations.
5. Know and avoid Time Bankruptcy.
6. There is always a bottleneck. Sometimes it is you.
7. Why buy IT? Why buy MINE? Why buy NOW?
8. Where there’s mystery, there’s margin.
9. Plan for your ‘every three million dollar crisis.’
10. List ten companies that could buy your business.
(c) 2013 D.W.Berkus
WWW.BERKUS.COM
WWW.BERKONOMICS.COM
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Call us:
Business Development Center
866.818.4IRA (4472)
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